Playlist #6: A summer playlist for rainy days
Or, why it's always been weird to be fed "summer hits" when it's damp and rainy where you are. Or, does it even matter with the way the world's been changing lately?
The experts will tell you that there is no such thing as summer in tropical countries like the Philippines. They’ll say we only have a wet season and a dry season, although some split the latter into a “cool dry” season at the beginning of the month, and a “hot dry” season around March to May.
That second period is what we still refer to as “summer”. I suppose we don’t have a choice. For one, “it’s summer” makes for better marketing copy than “it’s hot and dry out”. Also, up until recently children had school break in April and May—a few years ago our government aligned school years with the rest of the world, which meant vacation fell in the middle of typhoon season, and kids had to go to class in the searing summer sun—so it was a good time for families to go on vacation. And companies to go on mandated “team-building” trips. But I digress.
My point is, it’s weird being fed with “summer hits” from other parts of the world when it’s already quite rainy in my part of the world. Summer, of course, is when the big guns come out, and the more dance-able tracks shine. The Americans, long-time supposed custodians of what and what doesn’t matter in pop culture, have had a stake to this claim. But I only really realized this when I began getting into K-pop, and I better understood Sistar’s role as “queens of summer” thanks to their many bangers across the years. When they went their separate ways, there was lot of talk about who would replace them. (This was around the time Mamamoo released “Yes I Am”, and I quietly proclaimed that they would. Things turned out differently.)
But yeah—imagine hearing songs that evoke sunshine and happy feelings when it’s dreary and wet where you are. Cognitive dissonance.
I realized that when putting this playlist together. The vagaries of the Once Monthly means this playlist—which drops in the middle of June—covers the songs that I stumbled upon or enjoyed throughout May. By accident, I have a lot of tasty disco-flavored electropop this month. (That said, these summer-y songs did drop during spring in the Northern Hemisphere.) Add to that the vagaries of climate change, and how it’s way too hot when it’s just supposed to be warm, and way too wet when it’s just supposed to be cool, and in some instances, they swap around. There were days when the rains were very strong, although it was still quite humid. By the end of the month, there was a super typhoon in the country, but it was really sunny in Manila. (And by the time you read this, it’s officially wet season.) Can a one-two-three punch of Jessie Ware, Alison Goldfrapp and Kylie Minogue send the clouds away?
I suppose we all desperately want the sunshine, though, because I stumbled upon half of these songs on the radio. I know you’d probably rather stream now, but radio being a more mainstream product, it has to at least try to reflect everyone’s aspirations.
What’s so summer-y about your playlist, then?
I’m pretty sure the electro-disco flavor of some of this year’s new music is a response to being cooped inside, to varying degrees, over the last three years. And I’m enjoying them: Jessie Ware’s That! Feels Good! and Alison Goldfrapp’s The Love Invention have paved the way, and I’m curious as to when Romy will finally release an album. (An exception is Alex Lahey—I mean, I like her new album The Answer Is Always Yes, but it’s pretty much good old rock and roll.)
To be honest, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to include a K-pop track this month, but DALsooobin’s “Tanaka-san” is such a fun earworm I was compelled to squeeze it in. Formerly of Dal Shabet—they themselves have had pretty good summer-y hits—her solo stuff post-disbandment have been interesting.
When I realized I had a vibe going on I really tried to stick with it. I was watching the Eurovision song contest considering there’s little else to watch, and my favorite has to be the Austrian entry from Teya and Selena. If you’re British, you may remember the Ordinary Boys and Lady Sovereign’s “Nine2five”, a forgotten gem from the mid-noughties. (So maybe you don’t remember.) Going further back, the Bucketheads, whose 1995 hit I heard on Cebu radio. I did travel for the first time since before the pandemic struck last month, although it was a work trip and I barely got any rest across those three days. (That event was held partly on a passenger ship; I took the photo up there from the bridge. Funny how it can be so tranquil there compared to the cabins.)
The first ever Filipino track on my monthly playlists is from a Cebu-based (but apparently Zamboanga-born) four-piece named Peregrine. I haven’t listened to their other stuff yet, but “Gubble Bum”—it’s no longer their latest; it’s this one—bridges the gap nicely between those sweaty summer nights and the mornings that follow, when you’re feeling a little too tender to deal with things.
Yeah, the stereotype is of summer vacations spent partying. I have never done that. But it’s a good, chilled track, and I have spent a lot of May feeling tender. I mean, I had lots of work and I was too tired by the end of it. So, like last month, I suppose the familiar (to me) gets played here too: a jazzy track from Dutch singer Eva Valery, or the childhood throwback of the Cranberries’ “Linger”, or the warm embrace of Kimbra’s “Cameo Lover”, which, considering everything, felt like the best way to end this playlist.
I’ve been dithering with the idea of publishing my playlists on the second Monday of the month rather than the third. The key word there is “dither”—so, the next playlist should be online and in your inboxes on 17 July. (If it drops earlier, you’ll know.) And of course, you can email me song recommendations at nicksyoncemonthly@gmail.com.
On the playlist
Jessie Ware—“That! Feels Good!”
That! Feels Good! (2023)Alison Goldfrapp—“Love Invention”
The Love Invention (2023)The Bucketheads—“The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)”
All in the Mind (1995)Teya and Salena—“Who the Hell is Edgar?”
single release (2023)DALsooobin—“다나카상” (Tanaka-san)
single release (2023)The Ordinary Boys vs Lady Sovereign—“Nine2Five”
How To Get Everything You Ever Wanted In Ten Easy Steps (2006)Róisín Murphy—“CooCool”
Hit Parade (2023)Kylie Minogue—“Padam Padam”
Tension (2023)Peregrine—“Gubble Bum”
single release (2023)Eva Valery—“Not My Problem”
single release (2023)The Cranberries—“Linger”
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? (1993)Manic Street Preachers—“Your Love Alone Is Not Enough” (featuring Nina Persson)
Send Away The Tigers (2007)Alex Lahey—“Congratulations”
The Answer Is Always Yes (2023)La Rocca—“This Life”
The Truth (2006)Romy—“Enjoy Your Life”
single release (2023)Kimbra—“Cameo Lover”
Vows (2011)